Slavery in the 26th and 27th Century
Slavery is a practice occurring in alarming numbers throughout the distant reaches of Alliance space, with the slave trade being at an estimated 16 billion credits. Many groups have formed to protest slavery, of various kinds, from many distinct races. The topic of slavery become a focus point with Alliance officials in the last quarter of the 26th century and the beginning of the next. Though many factions have banned it, for millennia in some cases, it is still practised as a 'cultural right', mostly in ex-Covenant states. Covenant In the Covenant Hegemony, while the term Slavery was never used, many of their practises with client races amounted to such. While San-'Shyuum, Sangheili, Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar had their own internal economies, pay and currency, Unggoy, Lekgolo, Yanme'e and Huragok had nothing as such, being more akin to indentured servitude, receiving no pay and their needs such as food, clothing and equipment being provided by the state. There was no prospect of eventual freeing, though there was the possibility of advancement within their station, which held its own advantages, such as Deaconship for Grunts, royal guard for the Yanme'e or advancement in duty for the Lekgolo. Covenant Remnant With the fall of the Covenant into several small, bickering Jiralhanae packs and the freeing of the client races, slavery, if temporarily, was ended in the Covenant. However, when the Prophet of Deliverance took command, and their raiding became an organized, he decreed their path into the holy beyond could only be assured by worldly wealth and domination of the unbelievers. To that extent, the Remnant actively became raiders and slavers, capturing at first Huragoks and Unggoys on raids on their homeworld, before stepping it up and notch and actively raiding border colonies of the UEG and USR. It is estimated that at their height, they had almost 9 million slaves of various races, the majority of which were made up of Human and Unggoy, though Sangheili, Yanme'e, Huragok, Lekgolo, Vorenus, Machina and even other Jiralhanae made up the numbers. Slaves were used for everything from maintenance, to manual labour, pack animals, agricultural labourers, builders, administrative assistants, gladiators and even as a food source, when times were hard. Slaves were kept bound and downtrodden, with frequent beatings and infrequent executions, intended to prevent uprising and keep slaves dominated. Slaves were fed enough to at least keep them capable of working and housed, though nothing else was provided. As such, many recently enslaved persons hung onto what they had, though longer term slaves were dressed in mostly rags and whatever could be scavenged. Slaves were often kept collared and with conjoined manacles and in the case of high risk slaves, the feet are bound together as well. Since the first slaver raids in the early sixties, there have been at least third generation human slaves and fourth generation unggoy slaves, who most of the time have no knowledge of their natural language, are literate and in both the Covenant unified and the Jiralhanae languages, or depending on their owner, the San 'Shyuum language. These late generation slaves would of been removed from their families soon after birth and sold, usually growing up as house servants, or apprentices for labour. Like their Jiralhanae owners, they would eschew the majority of clothing and often shave their heads, as well as being devout followers of the Great Journey. Slaves were rarely told of the outside world, or their races, leading to a belief they were the only ones of their kind. When the fall of the Remnant came about, these people, with some difficulty, were reintegrated into their respective governments. The Remnant, like their JA alliance cousins, had bloodsport tradition, with gladiatorial matches usually fought between slaves. Vast sums of money were traded, and thousands, maybe even tens of thousands died in gladiatorial matches. One of the famed cases in the gladiator pits was of Sangheili warrior Agin 'Marom, who was captured when his Lance was ambushed and killed by a Remnant force, and he was rendered unconscious. Dishonoured and being sold as a slave, he was identified as a warrior and could be put to good use in the vast Gladiatorial arenas that had become popular with the Remnant. Stripped of his armour and weaponry, he was given crude weapons to fight superior opponents, Refusing to yield, or accept his fate, he battled on violently in the arenas, defeating vicious alien creatures, Covenant warriors and other gladiators for the perverse pleasure of the Covenant. He'd continued to win victory, after victory, becoming something of a celebrity. His battles became more and more difficult, but he never yielded. Eventually, he gathered so much fame and support, he lead a Gladiator uprising, overthrowing the local garrison and escaping with almost 200 other warrior-slaves. His story became first a book within the USR, popular among warriors, then a major motion picture, reaching top in the box office across several dozen planets simultaneously. There were many stories of brutality that came out of Remnant territory, before and after their defeat, but some have risen in their notoriety. United Sangheili Republic Officially, the USR is a staunchly anti-Slavery faction, ratifying an anti-slavery bill with the UNSC during the immediate post-war period. In the post-war era, the reformed High-Council put forth the Libertus Orion bill, freeing the Unggoy, Lekgolo, Yanme'e, Kig-Yar and Huragok from their oath to the Covenant, and set forth in building up free government and economy in their home sectors. This stretch of rebuilding allowed the Sangheili to extend their scope past pure martial matters. Though these protectorates owe allegiance to the USR, they still maintain free-elections, non-conscription and earn a fair wage defined by the Alliance. The majority of outer-rim anti-slavery operations are permeated by the USR, with almost one third of the forces in the unified task force being donated by the USR. However, all this aside, the USR, like many former Covenant states, practices a form of cultural slavery, which every anti-slavery bill has generally skimmed over and ignored. The "Honour Bond" dates back to almost eight centuries before the Sangheili-San 'Shyuum. Honour Bonds consists of a binding legal contract, lasting a Sangheili solar rotation. A single individual surrenders themselves to a individual, their contract dictating that they surrender their belongings and self before them. In this contract, they agree to whole heartedly follow their masters command and obey him or her unquestionably. These contracts are legally binding and by law have to passed by a legal committee, this ensures that the person becoming a slave, is doing so by free will, or in exchange for protection, money or shelter. This prevents unscrupulous individuals forcing people into slavery. The reasons one might surrender themselves to slavery include an offer of money in exchange for the contract, an escape from homelessness, familial problems or abusive relationships, as a form of hero worship, or the place of a mistress, out of an honour debt, out of curiosity, or a simple and humbling show of humility. However, many non-USR citizens are attracted to it out of curiosity for the exotic, or many of the reasons listed above. Recent censuses by the USR Honour Bond Commission suggests there may be 87 million people in Honour Bonds across USR space, about a sixth of whom are non-USR citizens. People surrendering themselves to honour bonds can also have a family intervention, by law, preventing them from partaking in this action, should the family believe they are doing this for the wrong reasons, and this brings the case before the judicial court systems of the Sangheili. While prospective slaves can carry out a personal contract with a specific individual, more often than not they sell themselves through a trader, or a broker who acts as a middleman for dealings. Honour bound slaves are expected to obey to a certain etiquette system. Unggoy Protectorate The Unggoy Protectorate is one of the main focal points of anti-slavery demonstrators, often citing the Sangheili's treatment of them as slavery. In exchange for naval protection of Unggoy colonies, and martial training of their militia units, the Sangheili also form their largest trading partner. However, the Sangheili often uses Unggoy militia units as rear units, for security and logistics, and many Sangheili-state owned industries hire hundreds of thousands, if not millions. They are often paid minimum wage and see little advancement, which is often the source of most out cries. However, the Unggoy, having only been free peoples for fifty years, were mostly ecstatic with being paid for a days labour. Lekgolo Protectorate Huragok Protectorate Jiralhanae Alliance Despite stringent legislation, and economical embargoes, The Jiralhanae Alliance remains one of the largest importers and exporters of slaves within the Alliance of United Races, trading primarily with their neighbours, the Kig-Yar Union, and the nearby Demilitarised Zone. While much of the Alliance's economy is built on the cheap export of raw materials to other races, Slavery forms a corner stone of their industry, providing money for both selling and buying slaves, and for the manpower they bring. There is very little infrastructure to the slavery industry, due to each clan having its own individual, shifting territory. Each pack uses it's own practices, methods and sources, but there is a number of central laws passed down by the Chieftains of the Jiralhanae and enforced by the Blood Pack. These laws dictate slaves are the the property of their owner, and consequently the property of their pack. Any damage done to the slave by a second party must be paid for by this party, as reparation. Slaves are guaranteed the right to be fed, be provided shelter, cannot be subjected to torture and sexual abuse and cannot be murdered, by torture, punishment or overwork, as dictated by the AUR Chattel Codex. This is usually followed by most clans, especially the largest and most powerful core clans, but outlying clans are often harder to track and enforce, and punishment by a master for a unruly slave is still allowable. Given the values of slaves, it is rare for one to be seriously hurt to the point of non-use. Damaging the slave of another is considered a major insult, but is also rarely done by a aggressor, since the defendants possessions become theirs if defeated in a duel. While the market for importing slaves en-masse from the Kig-Yar Union, buying from their less than reputable pirate cousins or from the Covenant, a large market share is provided by domestic 'slave production'. In actuality, the majority of slaves in JA space are Jiralhanae themselves. Smaller, defeated packs, criminals, pack outcasts, unwanted children and other undesirables are sold onto the slave market. Also, numerous packs do independent business in the DMZ, where business can be lucrative. Alien slaves can be considered exotic, and consequently expensive, so trades with criminal gangs, slaver raids, sentient trafficking and kidnapping can provide a clan with handsome profit. With little to no law enforcement and no governmental or military protection, independent colonies or isolated people in the big cities find themselves easy prey. On top of that, many outsiders who find themselves in Jiralhanae space are just as much at risk of being kidnapped and sold into slavery. By exploiting loopholes in the law, people immediately kidnapped and then sold on can be passed off as salvage, and can be legally owned. Slaves are usually registered, since it comes to prove the financial powers of owner and can be a symbol of status, though details may be falsified, and often large groups of slaves may be kept 'off the books' to hide potential business concerns or avoid tax. Many slaves may also be ransomed off to their governments and family. Slaves are often bought and sold at large auctions, with slaves being sold in 'bulk' packages of 10 to 1000 slaves. Each slaves is independently checked by a third party, usually the pack hosting the sales, as selling ill or weak slaves can be considered insulting. These bulk sales are often slaves who will be sent for manual labour. Most common practice is they will be stripped, shaved, restrained with manacles and shackles and placed on an auction block wearing a sign that denotes race, age, talent and price. Once bought, these slaves are then collared, with their master's name inscribed on the collar, though in some cases they may also be branded to show ownership. These slaves are often sent down the Jiralhanae's vast mines, logging reserves, farms, strip mines and factories. More delicate work such as construction, refining and production of high end goods is usually reserved for Jiralhanae workers, or more specialised slaves. These slaves live hard lives, working in difficult conditions for long hours, but its cheaper to keep a slave alive than it is to replace him, especially in the tough slave economy. Slaves who are too old, ill or incapacitated to work in some facility are usually (and unceremoniously) dumped outside their respective embassy, though there are cases of them simply being left to die. More exotic, skilled or interesting slaves are sold individually and face the same ordeal. Skilled slaves are highly desirable and will often be traded every few years, at increasingly high prices, and see higher standards of living, at least for a slave. The fate of alien slaves differs, mostly depending on their race. Kig-Yar, Unggoy and Lekgolo slaves are often sold in large numbers as slave labour. Sangheili slaves are similarly treated, though can expect much great prejudiced, compared to other slaves. Human, Plainsfierian, Machina, Vorenus and Majoran slaves are rare, and often highly prized, fetching higher prices. They may see special training to fill a certain area, may become the personal servant of a warlord, trophies to be displayed, or treated like a household pet by their owner. Slaves will often remained unclothed, unless they need clothing for protection during their job, though may be dressed as decoration when in the service of high ranking warlords. Highly trained slaves may also be given the right to own clothes by their owners, as well as other small rights and privileges. Another popular, but controversial place for slaves is the Gladiator pits. Technically, the gladiatorial arenas are a combat sport, like boxing, fencing, wrestling or duelling, but deaths are far more common than other combat sports, even the notoriously dangerous Heavy Combat Championship, and towards the less controlled packs further away from the core systems, the more popular death matches are. Gladiators are usually picked from slaves made from former or captured soldiers, or from strong slaves ideal for training. Free Jiralhanae, or other races may join the arena for money and fame, but the battles are tough, and injuries are common. Matches usually consists of Gladiators pitted against each other, or teams against each other, though 'special' matches may occur, against wild animals, trained war beasts or specials recreating great battles in Jiralhanae history. Those picked to be gladiators are often chosen from slaves from captured soldiers, usually picking the biggest, with the longest history of bloodshed. While Jiralhanae and Sangheili Gladiators are popular, there's been a recent boom in former human soldiers, sold from Kig-Yar Pirates or the Remnant. There have also been Plainsfierian, Machina and Vorenus gladiators, as well as Lekgolo, Yanme'e, Kig-Yar and Unggoy gladiators, along with voluntary gladiators from nearly all the major races. Gladiators are usually lightly armoured, based on their skills, and the most successful Gladiators are armoured in military gear. Most Gladiators who are in the fighting pit for the first time receive a pair of pauldrons and helmet to protect themselves, but otherwise unclothed, which is often in line with that of older, more tribal warriors in the Jiralhanae. More experienced warriors gain vambraces and graves for added protection, as well as a baldric, for holding a second weapon. Warriors-slaves belonging to richer patrons, may have armour more in common with more industrial packs, with rerebraces, helmets, a light breast plate and a fauld to protect the groin. The greatest champions of the arena may be permitted to wear clothing, with some of the greatest being equipped with custom built armour. Their weaponry, historically, consisted of blades, bayonets and warhammers, intended to kill the enemy, and these weapons, from time to time, are still used in illegal death matches, and fights against dangerous animals. More commonly, they are equipped with club, or baton like weapons, designed to hobble or incapacitate their foe. Gladiators are trained to go for blows to the arms and legs, with the intention of pinning the defeated beneath them once they are disabled. These weapons vary from monumental two handed weapons, capable of knocking a man off his feet, to mid-sized weapons, which can be swapped between one or two hands, or a one handed baton, used in conjunction with a buckler. These weapons feature large, flat sides, with rounded edges. They can break bones on impact, but have a degree of flex to prevent severe trauma, and often blows to the helmeted head will result in unconsciousness, though death is not unheard of. Some arenas authorise the use of more martial weapons, but these are blunted, while they can still cause injuries, these would be significantly less severe. Gladiatorial matches usually consist of races of a similar size and strength fighting each other, such as Jiralhanae and Sangheili, humans fighting Kig-Yar, Vorenus or Plainsfierians, and Unggoy fighting against each other, in what is commonly regarded as a comedic spectacle. Gladiators can expect excellent medical care, which only improves as they become more popular and achieve greater success. The aim of any Gladiator, is to earn his freedom, though these cases are rare. Gladiators who repeatedly fail are usually sent on to slave mines. Those selected to be Gladiators train hard, and often under intense pressure, as their masters and trainers are often veterans of many military campaigns, or the arenas themselves, and expect money back on the Gladiators. While female Jiralhanae are generally not accepted for Gladiators, due to their generally reduced place in society, not serving as warriors, politicians or serving in any position or importance, females of other races, who served in their militarise, are sometimes taken as Gladiators, who usually fight with an against males, but also some times in their own league, when the supply is plentiful, as these leagues are considered novel and somewhat of a spectacle. Millions of Chadits are won and lost betting on Gladiators, or hiring them out. From time to time, Gladiators have also served as auxiliary soldiers for packs, supporting combat operations against the Remnant and other enemies. One of the most infamous examples of slavery in the Jiralhanae Alliance occurred in 2596, when a consul for the UEG, heading to Doisac to take his new position, was ambushed by raiders. He, his staff and their guards were captured and sold to slavery. While the UEG tried to involve both the UNSC and the Alliance Government, no action was taken. The family of the Consul raised enough money to buy the services of the Tyraxus Pack, in order to trace down the Consul and his staff. Eventually, they found six of the fourteen staff members still alive, after three years of searching. His secretary was found serving a chieftain in the outer colonies, one of his staff members was found tilling a field on a inner colony, two of his guards in a mine on the same colony, his public relations manager as a family servant and he himself working in a factory on Doisac. This brought much attention to the slaving practices on the Jiralhanae, along with wide scale protests, though ironically protest attempts in Jiralhanae space by humans resulted in kidnappings and bloody violence. Despite promises made by the Alliance's central government for change, few changes in the system were seen, much less enforced. Kig-Yar Union The KYU, like the Jiralhanae and Sangheili practice a form of 'cultural' slavery, though the KYU system is much more liberal and fast and loose in its practices, often trading slaves with their pirate cousins and the Covenant Remnant. Due to the nature of their system and the remoteness of their space, it is near impossible for the Alliance to properly police the system, outside the Kig-Yar's own law. The system requires, that whenever a slave is bought, the new owner must inform the relatives of the slave within a week, or the slave is freed. After purchase, slaves can only be kept for a Eayn solar cycle (1 year and six months) after that, they are freed, or can choose to remain with their master, serving for another solar cycle. They can do this indefinitely if wished. Since the rise of anti-slavery bill, there has been a neutral AUR commission monitoring slavery on Eayn and Kig-Yar colonies, however due to their individualist natures and many unregistered colonies, this is exceedingly difficult to enforce. Often Slaves are well treated, being clothed, fed and sheltered, though cases of severe abuse are not unheard of. Slaves are most often used for manual labour and Kig-Yar economies are dependent on slave powered industries. With recent decline, they've had to look to the Sangheili and their protectorates for trade. Slaves are more valued by Kig-Yar, than other groups, due to the multiple uses they can preform, that Kig-Yar often cannot. Slaves are usual dressed in traditional slave garments, the Kramat or Kradat, depending on their station and use, but some are kept unclothed, usually during auction, but are sometimes kept this way to force humility or as a display, in the case of unruly, or exotic slaves. In a few cases, slaves are fitted with shock collars, to ensure control and loyalty. Slaves are often bought from Pirate or Remnant markets, with whom the KYU regularly trade in defiance of AUR embargoes. Others are bought from the Jiralhanae Alliance, which has becoming a major trade import. The KYU itself produces a number of slaves, with many citizens and prisoners sold to the slave markets by husbands, fathers and mothers, prison officials and by unscrupulous individuals, forcing people into slavery. Roving slaver gangs, criminals and other unsavoury elements have a hand in the business, kidnapping both Kig-Yar citizens and other AUR member races for sale. The Two most famous and heavily publicised cases of slavery in the KYU occured in 2586 and 2589. The first case was Elaine Haverson, a independent pilot working on hauling cargo between several companies. In her current assignment, she was to head into KYU space, pick up the load and carry it to UEG space. Heading to Eayn, she stayed on a station to rest and have some relaxation. She decided to get involved with a game of chance with several Kig-Yar, but after losing it, she found that they refused to accept the KYU digit. She'd in fact earned herself a severe debt. Immediately, she was apprehended by the two Kig-Yar and she, her ship and its cargo were claimed as property. By the end of that day she found herself sold to a slave market. Stripped, chained and sold in a private auction, she found herself as the personal servant of a warship captain. Her family and employer were informed of her fate and she was pressed into the service of the captain. As an exotic human slave, she was kept on the bridge as his personal servant, expected to complete any tasks the captain had and attend to his needs, as well as entertain the crew. He initially wanted her trained to serve, and trained to dance by another Kig-Yar servant. Elaine initially refused and even under shock collar punishment remained indignant. After her Kramat was removed and replaced Kradat, she still refused, until she was eventually forced to serve them naked, leashed with wrist and ankle bindings. By her third month in slavery, she'd relented and began serving, and by her fifth had begun dancing for the captain and crew. By the end of her time as a slave, she hadn't seen a scrap of clothing in a year, and had become physically fitter because of the exhaustive dance routines imposed on her. She was released back to her family, and returned to UEG space, never returning to KYU space. The other famous case is of DMZ colonist Thomas Baines. Son of two colonists in the DMZ, his family fell foul of Jiralhanae Slavers, being captured and sold to a KYU slave market. At the age of seven, Baines was identified by slavers as extremely valuable, being very trainable in a variety of skills. He was bought by a station owner to be a waiter in a bar on a station close to Eayn, carrying drinks to patrons and collecting glasses. At the end of his first cycle, he proved valuable to the owner, and not knowing any other life, stayed with his owner as a slave. To this day he remains in the the club, as waiter, bouncer, barman and occasional manager, becoming some what of a local tourist attraction. Kig-Yar Pirates Kig-Yar pirates are probably one of the most prolific slavers known prior to the Necros war. While not owning as many slaves as the Covenant Remnant, they owned more slaves per member and formed the core of the slave trade. When the Kig-Yar started raiding human settlements in the late fifties, they also started taking prisoners, which they quickly realised could be traded and sold. Being not only excellent pirates but also savvy merchants, they built a slave trade from nothing. As the raiding continued, a clan's position could be decided by three things. The number of ships they owned, how much money they possessed and most importantly, how many slaves they owned. As a result, slaves quickly overtook the K-Y Digit as main currency used by pirates, with slaves being traded between clans for provisions and weapons, with the Covenant Remnant for weapons, traded to mercenaries in exchange for their services and even receiving slaves as payment for jobs. When a person is captured, the first thing the Kig-Yar slavery does is determine their use, with sale in mind. Slaves are divided by what their discernible skills are, such as manual labour, as assistants, skilled workers or other duties. They are also often divided by their sex and age, with the youngest being highly valued as slaves, since they can be trained more easily. The old, sick and infirm are often left behind on raids, being deemed as unworthy of wasting the ammunition and insufficient as a meal. Rank and file Pirates rarely own a slave, at least for a long period of time, however, higher ranked pirates, especially captains and lords, may own a few, to thousands of slaves. These slaves are often massed slave gangs, kept as miners, plantation workers and manual labourers, as clerks and assistants, and in the case of higher ranked pirates, as decoration, keeping the most prestigious and beautiful slaves to themselves. The KYP view such slaves not by their own standards of beauty, but by how fellow members of the slave's race would view them. This often works to their advantage when conducting negotiations and trades with other races. Slaves are traditionally dressed in one of two items. The Kramat is a traditional slave garb, used from Eayn's prehistory, until their Covenant integration. It consists of a rectangular piece of rough cloth, with a diamond shape gap in the middle, worn by slaves like a poncho, covering the front and back but exposing the sides. This is then secured by anything from a belt to a piece of rope. The other item is the Kradat, which was typically worn by defeated enemies. It consists of a small strip of material worn across the waist, secured by a belt so it hangs down the front of the body, usually from just below the navel to midway down the thighs. Unruly slaves, who frequently resist commands are kept naked to enforce humility upon them, and may be for the rest of their internment. Exotic slaves who are bought for their appearance will often be kept unclothed. Slaves are usually fitted with a 'shock' collar, designed to subdue them in the event of an uprising, or tampering. More favoured slaves are dressed ornately, usually reflecting their owner's station. Classic examples include the Pirate Lord Fik'N Kun, who dressed his entire slave collection in fine silken versions of traditional garments, from the slaves working on his mines and farms to his favoured Unggoy slave and Kig-Yar concubine. Many slaves grabbed by the Pirates ended up in JA, KYU or Remnant space, but a few famous cases emerged from those that escaped the KYP slave camps. One famous case came in 2562, as one of the first 'front cover' slave cases. Alice and Walter Janir were the children of colonists on a far colony, near the expanding edge of Remnant space. Thinking they were safe because of expanding UNSC and Sangheili military forces in the area, they'd never expected a Kig-Yar ship to slip the net and launch a slave raid on their world. While their parents made it to the shelters in time, Vorenus Imperium Machina Federation United Earth Government Necros